Hassanal Bolkiah
(b. 1946), Brunei ruler. Born on 15 July 1946, Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah II had his early education in Brunei. On 14 July 1961, he became crown prince. He continued his studies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the Gurney Road School and the Victoria Institution. He left for Britain in 1966 to enroll at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He returned to Brunei in 1967, when he was installed as ruler.
Hassanal Bolkiah ascended the throne of Brunei Darussalam ("Brunei abode of peace") upon the sudden voluntary abdication of his father, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III (d. 1986). Concurrently sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan("He Who Is Made Lord," supreme ruler) of the kingdom of Brunei, from 1984 onward he has held numerous posts, among them prime minister, minister of defense, and minister of finance. Since 1967 he has been head of the Islamic faith in Brunei. He is also inspector-general of the Royal Brunei Police, commander-in-chief of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, and the chancellor of Universiti Brunei Darussalam.
Hassanal Bolkiah concluded two treaties with Britain, one in 1971 whereby Brunei became a selfgoverning kingdom with full internal sovereignty, another, the Anglo-Brunei Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation (1979), that set forth a five-year schedule for full independence. A sovereign and independent Brunei came into being on 1 January 1984.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah addressing the United Nations Millennium Summit on 8 September 2000. (AFP/CORBIS)Further Reading
Bartholomew, James. (1989) The Richest Man in the World: The Sultan of Brunei. London: Viking.
Chalfont, Lord Alun. (1989) By God's Will: A Portrait of the Sultan of Brunei. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
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